Everyone Makes Mistakes Part 2: A Girl and her Lion

Summary: Four Months after the "Pearl Incident", Connie is coping with the loss of Steven. But when an evil force arrives to finish what it started, it will be up to this young woman and her lion to stop it.

The Interview

Original Idea by: Scraps

Collaboration work with: Cleverun

Characters Created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 1: Interview with a False-Gem

[*]

Dr. Singmud Fraud's office, present day

"…and how has the experience changed your life Mrs.…Universe?" Dr. Fraud in said as he looked up from his clipboard.

"I…don't know sometimes." Connie said as she cupped her hands together, "To me it feels like hours when I know that it has been months since…."

"That day?" Dr. Fraud responded.

"Yeah…that damned day…"

Meet Connie Maheswaran Universe, this is a girl who was known to enjoy reading books, playing tennis, and trying to fit in with everyone else. A few years ago, she encountered a young boy named Steven. As the two began to grow into adulthood, their relation began to grow as well. This eventually led to the night that changed everything forever. One little mistake led to Connie becoming pregnant to Steven's child. Despite what had happened, a far more sinister plan was in motion, a plan that led to the death of Steven and the transferring of his powers to Connie.

"Do not worry Carrie, seeing how you have been managing this; I think you will be just fine." Dr. Fraud then stood up and quickly escorted the young Gem out of the room, slamming the door behind her. As Connie looked at the clinic door, she made an irritated grunt as she began to walk to the large temple in the distance.

It has been four months since that fateful week. With Harold Smiley's death, the management of Funland was given to Lars's dad to manage. Connie walked past the "It's a Wash" carwash, stopping to examine the abandoned structure. As she placed her hand on one of the cracked walls, she heard the sound of laughter and turned to the source of that sound. As she did, she saw a young boy with curly brown hair, spraying his father, a larger man who was balding and had a bit of a tan, with a hose. As the two of them laughed in joy, they looked to Connie and waved at her. Connie's eyes poured out with Tears as she saw the sight.

"Perhaps this is all a dream and all I need to do is wake up. Then everything will be back to normal" Connie thought to herself as she rubbed her eyes. But as she looked up, the boy and his father where gone.

Connie sighed as she continued to walk to the temple, not noticing the large growling creature that was following her. As she reached the beachside, Connie stopped and began to look around. As she slowly turned her head, she heard a large roar from behind her and quickly turned to defend herself, only to find her back on the sandy beach and a large pink animal licking her face. It was lion, the Gem animal that was known for doing weird things and for saving Connie's life. As Lion continued to lick her like a dog, Connie could help but laugh.

"Okay! Okay! Down boy!" Connie laughed as she pushed Lion off "I am happy to see you too."

Lion then sat up and groaned at his master before noticing Connie crouched before him. As Lion tilted his head in semi-concern, Connie then pounced at the Gem beast, trying to knock the creature down in a pointless effort. As she locked her hands around his mane, Lion stood up and began to walk up to the Temple. When they were at the doorstep, lion shook Connie loose from his mane, dropping Connie with a thud.

"Thanks a bunch Lion." Connie said sarcastically as Lion replied with a growl.

As Connie walked to the door, she looked up to the temple. It has been months and yet, she still is not used to the idea of living with the Crystal Gems, let alone living in the same place that...no, she knew the responsibilities outweighed the fears. Not to mention with the possibility of Diamond making a move, this was the only option to ensure proper protection.

"Today is the day lion" Connie said to the creature beside her, "Today, I become a Crystal Gem."

Lion looked at Connie with a bland expression a he turned and jumped up the temple. As Connie watched him climb to the top, Connie looked at her hand on the knob, took a deep breath, and opened the door.

[*]

Gem Colony Venatio, present day

"GET MOVING GEMS! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!" A large six armed Gem with a turquoise stone over his eyes yelled as she looked up to the sky.

Since the Gem civil war, colonies like this were used to house and protect Crystal Gems that lost their planets to war or disasters. Venatio, a Gem Colony in the Thesia System, was known for not only being the largest of the Colonies in the Universe, but also for housing billions of Gems. However, this Colony's purpose was to be tested. The Leader of the Colony, a Gem known as Turquoise, with the help of her Gems Azurite, Serpentine, and Iolite, was already making preparation to evacuate as many Gems as possible while at the same time use the colony's defenses to repel the incoming invasion.

"Azurite, are you there?" Turquoise said as she armed a row of light-cannons, "How are the defenses on the east side?"

"This is Serpentine, Azurite has the west side covered, Iolite has the north, and I have the east side." Serpentine responded in her sister stead "Do you think this will work, we don't even know who is attacking?"

"It will work, my sister." The six-armed Gem said as she heard a bellowing horn and saw the sky turn blood red, "it has to work."

Within moments, the sky filled up with large black clouds, as the clouds floated down to the colony, Turquois saw that they were not ordinary clouds, but groupings of Agate drones, it was at that moment Turquoise realized who was behind this invasion.

Turquoise then turned to a large crystal panel and slammed her hand on it causing a large alarm to engage followed by the light cannons beside her to target and fire at the clouds. As the cannon's blast hit one of the clouds, it dispersed into thousands of Agates, which began to swarm the Colony. Turquois watched in horror as she saw Gem after Gem torn apart by the merciless robots, not noticing the figure that quickly stabbed her in the lower back with a Katar. Turquois let out a shout of agony as she summoned her long swords, only to stumble over from the stab to her spine. As she looked, up at her assailant, a white haired Gem with two Katars and a sinister grin on her face, she recognized her as Zirconia, one of Diamond's personal servants.

She tried to move away from the Gem before, but her legs were paralyzed, preventing her from escaping. As she tried to strike Zirconia, two Agates quickly appeared and grasped her arms, electrocuting her and forcing her to subdue. As the Agates lifted her in front of the white haired Gem, she traced her hand over Turquois's Gem and made a smile.

"This one will do, her Vitae is quite powerful." Zirconia then turned to the doorway behind them "Isn't it…Father?"

Turquoise watched in horror as a tall Gem entered the room. His hair silver like a blade, his eyes piercing and cold, and his very presence created a feeling of fear and inferiority. It was Master Diamond, once the leader of the Crystal Gems and now the Leader of Obsidian, the so-called "New Universal Order." As he looked at the Gem before him, he turned to Zirconia and struck her across the face. As she turned back to him, she made a small smile.

"I mean, Master." Zirconia replied as she wiped blood from her mouth.

Diamond then turned back to Turquoise and clasped his hand on her face, moving her head around to examine her features.

"I am impressed with how you have handled things so far Turquoise, you are still as calculated and intelligent as the day you joined the Guardians and your dedication to the defense of this colony and its inhabitants is admirable. However, that does not change the fact that I am still disappointed still by your treason to our order."

Turquoise shook Diamond's grip as she glared at the Gem Master before her, "I'm the traitor? What about you "Master" Diamond? What do you call all of this? What do you call the mass slaughter of the very Gems who stood by the ideal of protecting the Universe?"

Diamond then placed his arms behind his back as he walked over to the window. As he looked at the Gems fighting against his army of Agates, he replied to his captive.

"Restoration my Gem, I call it restoration"

Turquoise looked at the Master in confusion, as she did, Diamond turned back and once again stood before her, his hands still behind his back.

"In the millennia we have spent protecting the Universe, my siblings and I formed the Crystal Guardians. However, as time went on we developed our own ideals of how we should protect the Universe. Rose wanted to help everyone and everything, and Topaz wanted to protect the Universe only from Gem based threats. While their intentions were pure, they did not see the truth as I did. For you see, the true threat is not what is attacking the Universe but the Universe itself."

Diamond then waved his hand and the Agates released Turquoise, dropping her to the floor. As the Gem tried to crawl to her weapon, a katar pinned her hand to the floor. As Turquois yelped in pain, she used her free hands to remove the katar. However, as soon as she tried to throw it at Diamond, the Agates quickly grabbed her again and held her to the wall. Diamond then turned and stood before her, shaking his head slightly as he focused his attention on Zirconia, who was deactivating the cannons.

"Why are you doing this to us?" Turquois asked weakly to Diamond, "Why destroy us?"

"Because you have become corrupt." Diamond replied, "To ensure that order is restored in the Universe, it must be maintained by those who will never tire, who will never go hungry, and those who will never say no. This is why you need to be replaced; you have the same fault that the rest of the species in this universe carry: You have free will."

Diamond turned to Turquoise and then waved his hand. As he did, an Agate drone flew into the room with a Gem in grasp. This Gem had blue skin and hair that was wrapped in a scarf hood. As the Agate released him, the Gem turned to see Turquois pinned to the wall with a look of horror and then she turned around to see Diamond and Zirconia. He then summoned a pair of chakrams and pounced at the Master, only to be suddenly struck into a wall by a large Diamond Mace. As Diamond dispersed his mace, he called the Agate who brought her and gestured to the Gem. The Agate then scanned the Gem and turned to its creator.

Diamond then raised his hand, lifting the Gem up from the ground and towards him. As he stared into the eyes, he raised his hand up to the Gem in a clenching motion.

"Diamond wait!" Turquoise shouted at the Master, halting his actions to focus his attention of the six-armed Gem, "Don't hurt him, it's me you want, you are here because you are after Master Topaz are you?"

Diamond turned to face Turquoise and lowered his hand, Iolite now floating behind him as he spoke to the Gem before him.

"I am surprised you realized my intentions so quickly. Yes, I am here because you were the last Gem to converse with them before they disappeared. Now you will tell me my sibling is hiding. If you do not comply, I will kill Iolite and then rape you."

Turquoise hesitated before lowering her head in defeat; she then took a deep breath and then raised her head to lock eyes with Diamond.

"They are at the Mendax Colony." She replied softly, "Now release Iolite and leave my colony…please."

"Of course, I will release Iolite…" Diamond replied as he turned to the Gem before him, raising his hand again, slightly clenching it. "…from his physical bonds."

As Diamond unclenched his hand, Iolite's limbs and head exploded, followed by his torso. Turquoise screamed in anger and agony as she watched Diamond lift up Iolite's Gem from the ground. As soon as he did, an Agate drone carrying a small silver pod with a hole in it appeared. Diamond then planted the Iolite into the pod's hole. As he did, the pod began to hover into the air and glow blue before beginning to take shape. Turquoise watched in horror as the Gem before her was transformed into a Agate before her very eyes. She also realized that the Agate was not just a simple war droid, but was a machine powered by the Vitae of a fallen Gem. As the new Agate hovered down in front of Diamond, its three lenses lit up and it spoke to its new master.

"Welcome Agate, at this moment you will follow protocol 11-8 along with your primary mission. There are three other Gem leaders on this colony, apprehend them and follow secondary mission if they are deceased."

The Gem saluted as he hovered near Zirconia, who laughed in response to the Gemdroid before jumping out the window with her new Agate behind her.

"You now see Turquoise, that this is the new age of peace." Diamond said as he walked over to his captive once more. "Iolite has now become something greater. A machine that will never tire, always obey, and show no remorse to his targets, that is how you restore order. Now then, its time I taught you the price for treason."

Turquoise replied to this by spitting in Diamond's face who responded by striking her in the face. As he finished, he scanned her with his eyes and then looked to the Agates restraining her before giving them a new command.

"Strip her."

[*]

Crystal Training Room, present day

Connie fell on her back again; this was the ninth time now. As it has been for weeks now, Connie was trying to unlock her full Gem potential. Although she could summon her weapon, she still needed to learn how to use it properly. Therefore, Garnet prepared a specialized training room for her to practice. As the Gem rose off the floor, she looked to her opponent, a hologem of a Agate drone, which quickly charged at her. Connie dodged the attack and slashed off one of its arms, causing the hologem to dissipate. As Connie sat on the floor, exhausted by the training, she noticed Garnet walking up next to her, with Amethyst behind.

"Your abilities are getting better Connie," Garnet said in her stoic tone to the new Gem "but it seems like you are still holding back."

Connie looked to the floor and sighed, "I just fell like battling a Agate would not be enough, I mean, can't I fight one of you guys?"

Amethyst smiled "Yeah Garnet, let's become Sugulite! She could give Connie a nice workout. Remember how exhausted Perrr…." Amethyst stopped mid-sentence, remembering about the whole fiasco four months ago, Amethyst looked at a ringing expression at Connie, who was still looking at the floor before she stood up to face her Gem sisters.

"Set up a new hologem." Connie said in a determined but serious tone "this time though, use Pearl's."

As Garnet and Amethyst looked at each other, they then looked back to Connie and Garnet waved her hand. As she did, a hologram of Pearl appeared before the three Gems. This hologem was used by Pearl as a training dummy, and at one point, an unsuccessful substitute for Pearl.

"[DO YOU WISH TO ENGAGE IN COMBAT?]" The hologem exclaimed in a dramatic fashion.

Connie nodded as she brought up her sword and shield. As she did, the hologem summoned a spear, and lunged at its opponent. Connie quickly dodged the attack as she brought the sword down onto the hologem, only for it to roll out of the way and throw its spear at Connie. As Connie blocked the attack, the hologem kicked the shield, hitting Connie in the face and dropping her to the floor. Connie rose up; her nose trickling blood a she brought up her blade one more.

"Is that all you got?" Connie shouted at the hologem "I had more of a challenge with the Agate hologem."

"[INITIATING ADVANCED ATTACK MODE]" the hologem replied as it lunged into the air, summoned two spears, and lunged again at Connie. This time, Connie blocked the attack and pushed forward, knocking the hologem back. The hologem flipped to recover as it shot one of its spears at Connie. As she blocked this, she felt a sharp slash in her back. When she turned to the source of the attack, she was attacked again. The pain of the attacks caused Connie to lose grip of her weapons and drop to the floor. As she looked up, she saw the hologem walking towards her, brandishing a bloody spear and a cold stare.

As the hologem stood above her and was about to thrust its spear, a large gauntlet blew the head off the hologem, causing it to stagger and then dissipate. Connie looked to Garnet, who had just saved her life and now was over the new gem. Her arms crossed over her chest and her face a stoic expression.

"Perhaps we should stick to the Agate for a while."

"Yeah…" Connie said, "By the way, can a Gem die from blood loss, because I am loseing a lot of blood right now."

Garnet sighed as she lifted the Gem into her arms. As she carried the Gem about of the room, Amethyst trailed next to them. Telling Connie about how badass she was facing the Holo-Pearl. As Connie listened, she felt that in the back of her mind that the reason she lost the fight was not because of the hologem's power.

[*]

Gem Colony Venatio's Hangar Bay, present day

Time was not in the favor of the Crystal Gems. As the groups rushed to the hangars in hope that a ship was still operational, there was the issue with dealing with the aftermath. Luckily, there were reports of a colony on a planet called Terra that housed several Gems and one of the Tribunal. As of now, it was up to Azurite and Serpentine to lead the surviving Gems off the colony. As they ran through the tunnels they could hear the fighting above them, the sound of Gems clashing with their mechanical replacements, the wounds of Gems screaming as they were ripped apart. Azurite suddenly placed her hands over her head and slumped down into a ball, the horror of what was happening was too much for the blue Gem. Serpentine tilted her head to the other Gems to have them move on, as she would stay behind to help her Gem sister.

"Azurite, it's going to be okay. We are going to get out of this, you will see. However, we need to get to the ship. It's our only chance to escape." Serpentine said as she looked into Azurite's eyes.

Azurite took a deep breath as she stood up, continuing to walk with her sister into the hanger. Inside the hanger was a large ship. Unlike other Gem ships, this ship was made of metal. It also had an insignia in the side that looked like an Ingot with wings and a shield in the center. Under the Ingot, were the words "OLYMPUS MONS." As Serpentine and Azurite approached the ship, they heard a large groaning followed by a bigger explosion. They knew that if they did not launch now. There was no way to escape.

"Turquoise, this is Serpentine; the Olympus Mons is ready to launch. What is your status?"

There was nothing but silence on the other end. As Serpentine looked at Azurite, she tried another.

"Iolite, are you there, we need to leave now. Respond."

Nothing, it was perfectly clear that they were gone. Serpentine clenched her hands before approaching the bridge of the ship. There on the bridge, Gems had already prepared to leave.

"Is the ship ready to launch?" Serpentine asked another Gem, a gem in a blue duster with a face bandana by the name of Spinel.

"She is all set to go." Spinel stated before noticing outside the window "Oh shit!"

As Serpentine looked out the window, she saw several Agate Drones flying into the Hanger. Serpentine then stormed up to the controls and pressed several buttons. When she did, the panels came to life, as well as a computerized face.

"[Greetings, I am A.L.L.O.Y. I am the Super Computer to the Metalia Ranger ship The Onlympus Mons. How may I help you today?]"

"Engage hostile defense system." Serpentine replied.

"[Command accepted, Beginning hostile defense.]"

Suddenly, the ship began to vibrate as several turrets emerged from the sides of the ship, firing at the Agates who were flying around the ship. As Serpentine sighed in relief, she noticed a white haired Gem running from the Agates. Before she could do anything, she saw Azurite running out of the ship, obviously intending to save the Gem.

"AZURITE WAIT!" Serpentine shouted as she chased her sister. However, she then saw the white haired Gem kneeling on the ground with Azurite over her, trying to comfort her. As Azurite saw a Agate charge at her, she created a blue bubble, blocking the attack and shielding her and the other Gem from harm. As Serpentine approached the two Gems, she then noticed that the kneeling Gem was dripping black fluid from her face. As Serpentine realized who she was, she tried to warn Azurite.

"AZURITE, GET AWAY FROM HER! SHE IS ONE OF DIAMOND'S-"

*shunk*

Serpentine watched in horror as the white haired Gem stabbed a katar into Azurite's stomach. Breaking the bubble and causing Azurite to kneel in pain.

"Didn't Turquoise ever teach you not to trust strangers?" Zirconia said while bending down to the blue Gem.

As Azurite fell over, she dissipated into a single blue Gem. As soon as she did, one of the Agates hovered near her.

"[GEM INCAPACITATED…COMMENCING GEM AQUIRENCE.]"

The Agate then opened his hand, causing the Gem to lift up into the air and float towards the Gemdroid. Serpentine, still upset by the attack, quickly rushed over, and grabbed Azurite's Gem. As the two tugged the Gem, a thought hatched into Serpentine's brain. Such an action would be considered forbidden as unlike Gem fusion, the effects were permanent. Nevertheless, it would be better than the alternative.

"Forgive me Azurite." Serpentine said softly as she pulled the Gem close to her chest. As she did, she whispered a single phrase.

"Sed et nos unum sumus!"

As soon as she did, both Azurite's Gem and Serpentine began to glow in a bright light. Suddenly, there was a large pulse, knocking the Agate and Zirconia back and leaving a large cloud of smoke where Serpentine once stood. As Zirconia peerd into the smoke cloud, she saw something standing there. She then realaized that the being was a Gem, but it was far different then what she had been facing before.

Before the Agate could respond, it was cut into ribbons by a blurred flash, Followed by a large cut into Zirconia's chest. As the Gem stumbled in shock, she looked back to the cloud, only to find in its place was a Gem. She could see that it looked like Azurite, but with Serpentine's colors and a different wardrobe. She also saw that the Gem's hands had large sharp claws on them.

Zirconia called for move Agates, but as they attacked the Gem, they were too slow to deal with Thorn.

"So this is the might of Diamond?" Thorn said with a laugh as she cut down Agate after Agate, "I am quite disappointed that he is-"

"I am what?" a voice shot out, drawing the attention of the two Gems.

There was Diamond, standing before the two Gems with two items in hand. In one hand was his Mace, drenched with blood. While in the other was a head. As he threw the head towards Thorn, she saw that head was missing a large Gem over its eye. Thorn, being a fusion of tow Gems who worked with the head's original owner, knew exactly who's head this was.

"Turquoise?" Thorn replied as she saw the head roll towards her and stop.

Thorn then gritted her teeth as tears rolled down her face. She then screamed a bloody roar as she leaped at Diamond, who simply dodged her attack and wacked her in the back with his mace. As Thorn recovered, both of them head the sound of engine charging as they turned to see the Olympus Mos begin to take off. Thorn then jumped into the air, leaping over Agates and then sinking her claws into the hull of the ship. Diamond watched as Thorn entered the ship door and watched the ship launch out of the Colony. He then noticed Zirconia limping towards him.

"I did not expect that they could do that." Zirconia said as she began to cover her wounds "Don't worry Master, we will go after them."

"No you will not." Diamond said as he looked at the ship flying away. "You will not because I know where they are going. In the meantime, I think it is time you returned to Terra. There is a Gem we need to capture."

Zirconia looked with anticipation "Does this mean I can kill them Master?"

Diamond placed his hands behind his back "As long as you do not kill the Furem, I do not care what happens to the rest of them. You may do as you please."

Zirconia gave a large grin as she waved her hands. As she did, the destroyed Agates reassembled and flew out of the hangar doors. As Zirconia began walking out of the hanger, she was stopped by Diamond's voice, issuing her an additional command before he vanished.

zoheusher20:
What more can I say? The writing style and little details drew me into the book and for the entirety of the story I was Juliet. I felt her turmoil and emotions and every trouble or triumph as they arrived. This story was very different and had quite a few little but unexpected twists that made it...

Dru83:
This is the second or third time I've read this one and I just love it. It has just about everything you could ever want packed into one scifi story. It still has some parts that are a little rough in terms of grammar, punctuation, and word usage, but it's still an awesome story. I love how detai...

re8622:
The Last Exodus quickly grabbed my attention. Almost as soon as I started reading the story, I couldn't put it down. I found that the ideas the author put forth were very thought provoking given the turmoil we have seen gradually rise over the last several years. I felt that I could understand th...

genlynne2379:
I read the other review of this book and I must say that I disagree with it wholeheartedly. I do not believe the author put the apostrophes in the names just to be unique, but because the characters are supposedly of a different race than humans. They are Anmah. They should have different names a...

Dessie Williams:
loved the book. the plot the characters all just great.I think it's a must read. once you start this book it's hard to put down. hope it gets published....I think this book is a must read.great job!!!!

Alex Rushmer:
Chapter One: Not much is happening in this chapter, but I was absolutely fascinated by the depth of your character development. I love how you just sat there with the reader and explored Eddward. Usually, that sort of thing gets boring very fast, but this was actually really cool! He's so unique ...

littlebunnypoopoos:
Omg this was so amazing! The ending was a little bad and predictable. But otherwise, I need a second book or I'll die :D The character development was excellent and the whole romance, action, and suspense was superb

emmaneal74:
I loved this booked. Would definitely buy it when published and read it again. The story flowed in such a way I just couldn't put it down. I was never confused about the characters or their roles in the story which can happen sometimes with so many lead. I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to r...

rudyoxborough46:
An action-packed, mystical adventure awaits anyone wishing to read this novel. I’m amazed at how well you’ve managed to flesh out the characters in this book, and I hope to read more of your work.I’ve read books about goblins and elves and all that mumbo-jumbo before, and most accounts of these c...

brettylee:
The narrative is slick yet punchy. Life, Family and Friends I believe is the core message so it’s easy to relate to. It’s surprisingly action packed. The author does a good job at keeping you guessing. Just when you think all is right, whack, the unexpected happens. The dialogue is energetic and ...

Grapes Are Juicy yes!!!:
I give this novel FIVE STARS ! This novel is worth reading from the beginning to the end! The plot and conflicts in this story are very smartly integrated. The language facility is a little odd , but i guess this was done on purpose, given the novel's set era. Other than that, this should definit...

aoifecollopy22:
I loved how the author had the conflict come back later in the story. Also how they passed time without going over anything. That really helped move the story along. This kept my up for a few hours. YOU SHOULD READ THIS

christylynnr5:
This was beyond amazing! I loved this book. The characters seemed so real. It was amazing how the author let Zak and Kaylees personalities slowly change. This story was very sad and eye opening. It could teach some people a very worthy lesson. It was a great combination of romance, mystery, and a...

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